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Spring 2014
Read to a Child Spring 2014 Newsletter
Inspiration from Detroit
 
Ronald Newton, 
Principal of Loving Academy
Detroit Principal Ronald Newton, who recently spoke at a Read to a Child fundraiser, describes the impact of the lunchtime reading program on children at his school: 
 
"This was our first year implementing this program.  We have several companies within a five-mile radius that take time to read to our children during their lunch break. The students who are read to are in 1st through 3rd grade. We noticed an increase in listening skills and comprehension within our school. We knew our students needed a little more attention than what they were getting at home. The mentors have also helped students figure out what they want to be when they grow up by sharing a bit about what they do at their jobs with the students.This is priceless especially when our school is pushing for college readiness. 

This program has really touched the lives of our students, and we want to continue this partnership forever."
Read to a Child is Active Across the Country
 
Fundraising Event in New York City
Read to a Child's National Board members enjoying the event
On Thursday, March 7th, Read to a Child held a successful Fundraising Event at Books of Wonder in New York City.
 
We were proud to be able to showcase the power of the program through the moving words of our National Board Chair,
 Chris Thomas, and our special guest speaker, award-winning author, Richard Peck.
 
We invite you to like our Facebook page to see more pictures from the event and receive the most up-to-date information about what Read to a Child is doing!
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Read to a Child is excited to announce a partnership with Amazon Smile. Just sign in through Amazon Smile instead of regular Amazon, select Read to a Child, and .05% of the purchases you make will go to Read to a Child. It is an easy way to make a big difference in the life of a child!  
Boston
The winning team included volunteer readers from the Madeline English school in Everett!
 
Trivia Night
  
On Wednesday, April 30th, some of our most loyal Boston donors and volunteer reading mentors came out for a fun-filled night of trivia at the Black Rose. A total of 15 teams competed in trivia to support the lunchtime reading program. Congratulations to our winning team, "Ask M.E. Another"! Read to a Child would like to thank this year's Trivia Night sponsors: Cabot, Eaton Vance and Imagitas! Thanks to our sponsors' generosity, the night was a huge success!

 

A reading pair celebrating the end of the year at the Condon School in Boston

 

Year-End is Near! 

  

Read to a Child in Boston is immersed in preparations for its most bittersweet time of year: program end and year-end celebrations at each of its 16 schools. This year, 185 4th graders will graduate from the lunchtime reading program, many of them parting ways with a mentor who has read to them for four years.  All students in the lunchtime reading program will receive a certificate of accomplishment and a special book from their mentor to foster literary engagement through the summer months.
Connecticut
 

Volunteer Spotlight 

 

Stacy and her student bonding over lunchtime reading
Stacy Orf (of Travelers) has been a dedicated lunchtime reading volunteer since 2008 and is passionate about promoting children's literacy: "It's a larger issue than people think...I often hear about students that cannot read or write and the challenges these students face. I've also learned by participating in this program that students with the desire to read don't always have access to books." 

Stacy looks forward to her weekly visits to Betances School in Hartford, saying, "My favorite thing about reading to students in the program is their enthusiasm. They make the hour so much fun that it makes it easy to leave work even on the busy days. Additionally, it's great to see when the enthusiasm for reading spills over to their free time. Sometimes the best part of coming to reading is when my students tell me about the books they read outside of school." Read to a Child is very grateful for the dedication and support of volunteers like Stacy, and we know that our students are as well!
Los Angeles
 

The Million Word Challenge inspires students in Los Angeles county to read outside the classroom. 

 

The Challenge began on February 3rd and concluded on March 21st. Hundreds of schools across the county participate each year. The Challenge is an annual countywide initiative put on by the non-profit Families in Schools. Students have their parents sign book logs every time they read and then turn in the logs when they fill a page. 

 

Read to a Child Los Angeles partnered with Families in Schools to bring the Million Word Challenge to three of our schools: Tenth Street Elementary, Brockton Avenue Elementary and Playa del Rey Elementary. Over 200 students in these three schools participated, having read over 6,800 books. Tenth Street did extremely well; they placed 7th among all participating elementary schools. Each top reader at the school received a $50 gift card to Target from Read to a Child. In addition, Read to a Child implemented a classroom challenge at each school. The class who read the most would receive a visit from a children's book author. These visits will be taking place in May!  

 

 

Save the Date: Los Angeles for Literacy Annual Adult Spelling Bee!

 

Read to a Child in Los Angeles will be hosting its 10th annual charity benefit, Los Angeles for Literacy on Thursday, July 17th, 2014 from 6:00pm - 9:00pm. It will feature an adult spelling bee at the Ace Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. For more information, please contact Los Angeles Executive Director, Alex Fey.  

South Florida 
Julie and her student enjoying lunch over a good book
 
Words of one reading mentor at Coral Way K-8, Read to a Child's newest school in Miami:
 

"As a published author of essays, novels and plays, I know that writers rarely have the rewarding privilege of witnessing a reader's excited reaction to their work.  I am sure that the authors of the books that I read to my student would just delight in seeing the glow in his eyes, the excited expression in his face, the gasps, and overt reactions to the stories we are reading.  His concentration is remarkable; he gets so much into the books that I feel that one day he might actually fall into a story through some magical door.  His reactions have been so moving to me that I am actually considering writing children's literature."Julie De Grandy


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